Work-Related Requirements and Your Claimant Commitment

To get Universal Credit you must do everything you can to find work or increase your earnings, as set out in your claimant commitment¹. That commitment is your record of the responsibilities you have accepted in return for receiving Universal Credit, and the consequences of not meeting them². Before you are paid, you will need to accept an agreement called a claimant commitment³.

What it asks of you depends on your circumstances, such as your health, caring responsibilities and whether or not you are working⁴. There are four types of work-related requirement that you may need to undertake: work-focused interviews, work preparation, work search and work availability⁵. There are also four Universal Credit work-related activity groups, and which one you fall into decides which requirements apply⁶.

If you are the main carer for a child, the hours you are expected to work or spend on work-related activity step up as the child gets older: up to 30 hours a week when your youngest child is aged 3 to 12, and up to 35 hours a week from age 13². If you do not meet your requirements without a valid reason, your payments might be reduced or stopped temporarily⁷.

Universal Credit has four work-related requirements

The law sets out four requirements that can be imposed on a Universal Credit claimant: a work-focused interview requirement, a work preparation requirement, a work search requirement and a work availability requirement⁸. In practice these are the building blocks of your claimant commitment, and most claimants have some combination of them rather than all four.

A work-focused interview requirement means attending interviews with your work coach to discuss your plans. A work preparation requirement covers activity that gets you closer to work, such as training or updating a CV. A work search requirement means taking steps to find work, and a work availability requirement means being available for and willing to take work.

The Department must, except in prescribed circumstances, impose a work search requirement and a work availability requirement on claimants who do not fall within the groups that are exempt or have lighter requirements⁸. That is why the group you are placed in matters more than any single task on your list.

Your claimant commitment: what you agree to

You agree to a claimant commitment when you apply for Universal Credit¹⁰. It is a record of what you agree to do to prepare for and look for work, and to increase your earnings if you are already working³. Accepting a claimant commitment is one of the basic conditions of entitlement: the legislation lists it alongside the other conditions a claimant must meet⁸.

Anyone who gets Universal Credit has to complete a claimant commitment with their work coach before getting their payments⁷. If you claim as a couple, both of you will need to accept a claimant commitment².

The commitment is not fixed for the life of your claim. It can be reviewed and updated at any time¹¹. If a change in your circumstances affects your ability to work or look for work, you might need to request a change to your claimant commitment through your online Universal Credit account¹². The Mental Health and Money Advice service updated its guidance on how to change Universal Credit work-related requirements on 4 September 2025⁶.

Why your requirements depend on your circumstances

What your requirements are will depend on your circumstances¹³. Your claimant commitment will depend on your health, caring responsibilities and whether or not you are working⁴. Your monthly payment is worked out on the same basis, for example your health condition or disability, income and housing costs¹⁴.

There are four groups with different requirements¹⁵. At one end, claimants in the all work-related requirements group must accept a work search requirement and a work availability requirement unless prescribed circumstances apply⁸. At the other, some claimants have no work-related requirements at all.

Caring responsibilities move you between groups as your children grow. A responsible carer of a child aged 3 or 4 falls into the group subject to work preparation and work-focused interview requirements only¹⁶. Once your youngest child reaches 13, you are expected to work up to 35 hours a week, or spend up to 35 hours a week on work-related activities such as applying for jobs².

Health conditions work in a similar way. Universal Credit can support you if you have a health condition or disability which stops you from working or limits the amount of work you can do¹⁷. If you are off with a long-term sickness due to a mental health condition or illness, and you can prove you have limited capability for work, you will not be required to work¹⁸.

Couples on a joint claim each have their own requirements

If you live with your partner and you are both eligible for Universal Credit, you must apply as a couple for a joint account¹⁹. You will need to make a joint Universal Credit claim if you and your partner are married, civil partners or living together as a couple²⁰. Both members of a couple are normally expected to claim Universal Credit together²¹.

Both of you will need to accept a claimant commitment². Each partner's circumstances are assessed separately, so one of you can be in the all work-related requirements group while the other has no work-related requirements, for example because of a health condition or caring responsibilities.

Reporting works the same way. In a joint claim each partner's earnings must be reported separately, although details of all jobs can be reported by either partner²². If you are a couple you will need to make a joint claim²³.

The childcare element of Universal Credit has its own rule for couples: both of you will need to accept a claimant commitment, and each partner's earnings must be reported separately, though details of all jobs can be reported by either partner⁸.

Do I have to work a certain number of hours to get Universal Credit?

No. Universal Credit does not limit the number of hours you can work¹. Unlike Income Support or Working Tax Credits, there are no time limits to the amount of work you can do when you claim Universal Credit; it is the amount you earn that counts²⁴.

The hours in your claimant commitment are about what you are expected to do to find work or increase your earnings, not a cap on the work you may take. If you are the main carer for a child, the expectation is to work up to 30 hours a week when your youngest child is aged 3 to 12, or up to 35 hours a week from age 13, or to spend that time on work-related activities such as applying for jobs².

There is no permitted work regime for Universal Credit. Instead, you will be encouraged to do some work if you can manage it, with no time limit to how many weeks you can work²⁵. You can earn a certain amount before your Universal Credit payments are reduced if you or your partner are responsible for a child or young person, or have a disability or health condition that affects your ability to work¹. Your work allowance will be lower if your Universal Credit payment includes help with housing costs¹.

Light touch regime: when you earn between the two thresholds

If you are not self-employed and you earn more than your earnings threshold, you move into a lighter set of requirements⁶. The threshold is based on the weekly hours you are expected to work, multiplied out.

The earnings threshold used for the NHS Low Income Scheme is £935 or less per month if your Universal Credit includes an element for a child, or if you have a limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work-related activity²⁶. For claimants whose award includes at least one child element, the combined earnings figure used is £935 per month²⁷.

There is a start-up period for self-employed claimants who are taking active steps to increase their earnings from that employment to the level of their individual threshold²⁸. The earnings threshold for the work capability assessment does not apply if you are receiving Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Adult Disability Payment, or can be treated as having limited capability for work without the assessment²⁹.

Where requirements are paused or reduced

Some circumstances switch requirements off entirely for a period.

Where a claimant has recently been a victim of domestic violence, a requirement imposed ceases to have effect for a period of 13 weeks, and no other requirement may be imposed during that period⁸.

Bereavement also pauses requirements. Surviving partners in receipt of Universal Credit are not subject to any work-related requirements for the first six months following a bereavement⁹. You will not have to meet any work-related requirements for the 6 months after the death if you tell the Department about the bereavement when claiming³⁰. There is also an exemption for 6 months after the death of your baby or a child under 16³¹.

Work-related requirements do not apply in certain circumstances: being pension age, being more than 29 weeks pregnant, having given birth in the last 15 weeks, having adopted a child in the last year, being the main carer for a child under 3, having an illness or disability that means not being able to work at the moment, caring for someone with a serious disability for at least 35 hours a week, or already working and earning above a certain amount¹⁰.

What happens if you do not meet your requirements

If you do not meet your requirements without a valid reason, your Universal Credit payments might be reduced or stopped temporarily⁷. This is a sanction. The legislation provides for a reduction of the award where a claimant fails for no good reason to comply with a work placement requirement, to apply for a particular vacancy, or to take up an offer of paid work, or ceases paid work or loses pay by reason of misconduct or voluntarily and for no good reason⁸.

A claim review is a separate process from a sanction. Your Universal Credit payment will only be stopped if you do not provide the documents you are asked for, you do not attend your telephone appointment, or you are not eligible for Universal Credit³².

If you are studying, there is a condition attached to the all work-related requirements group: you must be prepared to give up your course if you are offered suitable work, unless the course was arranged with your adviser³³. The Department will refuse Universal Credit if it believes attendance on the course is incompatible with any work-related conditions attached to the claim³⁴.

New style ESA and JSA claimed alongside Universal Credit

New style Employment and Support Allowance can be claimed at the same time as Universal Credit, but if you do, your Universal Credit amount is reduced by the amount of ESA you receive³⁵. Overpayments under the Universal Credit system can be an overpayment of Universal Credit, new style Jobseeker's Allowance or new style Employment and Support Allowance³⁶.

The work-related requirements you agree to sit within your Universal Credit claim. If you have limited capability for work and work-related activity, an award of Universal Credit is to include an amount in respect of that fact, known as the LCWRA element³⁸. From April 2026 there are 2 rates of the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element³⁸.

How to ask for a change to your claimant commitment

Your claimant commitment can be reviewed and updated at any time¹¹. If a change in your circumstances affects your ability to work or look for work, you might need to request a change through your online Universal Credit account¹².

1. Sign in to your online Universal Credit account.
2. Report the change in your circumstances that affects your ability to work or look for work.
3. Request a change to your claimant commitment, explaining what has changed.
4. Attend any appointment your work coach arranges to discuss the change.
5. Check the updated commitment and raise anything that still does not reflect your circumstances.

Your claimant commitment will depend on your circumstances, such as your health, caring responsibilities and whether or not you are working⁴. If you disagree with a decision about your requirements, you can ask for it to be looked at again and then appeal.